Funeral & Wills

[ORC]

Hi all

 

To put things into perspective, I'm a single male with no dependents and had all of this covered in SA but I'd like to know what everyone elses opinions here are on Funeral Cover and Wills.

 

I don't intend on getting married any time soon but would like to know where the best place to get wills are. Some have said the post office and some have said online. (I'm in NSW).

 

Also with Funeral Cover, is it really necessary, can it really be that expensive. I'm so confused by this as there are so many options.

 

Your thoughts?

[Toitjie]

Maybe i can help from my experience. When my husband was diagnosed with leukemia i realised we had to get a funeral policy as we never had one, and we felt that dying is not going to happen to us. I have phoned a few but all had a 12 month exclusion period. 

 

He passed away 3 weeks ago with a policy 10 months old. So no payout unless i could prove it was an accident ( in case of an accident it pays earlier and double the amount)

 

the funeral cost $8700 which is not the kind of money i have lying around. Due to the incredible people surrounding me, a fundraising effort was initiated to pay for his funeral. But there are no guarantees, i believe it is something all of us have to consider and think about, especially if you leave dependants behind.

 

if you are alone im not sure how the state would handle that. If they will cover it because you have no dependants i guess you would maybe not need it? (Not sure). It just make things easier. Believe me, without this and without a will i have been through hell to get it sorted

 

If you want details on the specific costs please send me a message

 

 

[Mara]

This is my view on the situation, and I am of the opinion that it does not matter whether you are single or married. If married, obviously you are leaving someone behind, be kind to them to sort this out now. If you are single, yes, you could end up in a pauper's grave, but obviously your family are going to be advised of your death, think of how they would feel, having to find R87,000 (Toitjie's cost) to come over to Australia to bury you, what if they want to have your body shipped back to RSA, or have you cremated and take your ashes back? So yes, I am certainly one of those that want the boxes ticked.

 

Please, if you own anything in RSA, do NOT do one of those "self do" kits which you can buy at the post office. Make an appointment with a lawyer and go and have a proper will drawn up. All the boxes will be ticked and in place. If you have a valid RSA will good on you, but that is not going to count for much in Australia. I prefer to know that everything is correct and in place, so I would always go to a lawyer... phone around, get prices, they do not all charge the same.

 

With regard to the funeral policy... no, we do not have one of those, for either of us... but we do have funds stashed in a savings account for the situation, should it arise. Also, obviously your employer has contributed to your superannuation... now here is something not everyone realises... there is always a life policy portion attached, and if you do things quick smart, the "persons" super can pay out super fast, BUT ONLY if you have a BINDING NOMINATION in place... this is a form that you have to complete (up to you, they do not necessarily offer it) in it you state what you want to do with your super if you die. The BINDING NOMINATION only lasts for a certain number of years, then it has to be renewed. Now you are asking yourself, I have listed my wife/husband as my beneficiary, why would I need a binding nomination, well the beneficiary listing only suggests what you want, the binding nomination sets your wishes in concrete, quickest and most simple explanation. So.... if you have all this in place then there is a chance you could pay funeral costs out of your super.

 

Hope this has helped someone.... even if it has just made you think.... I have not even gone into people with children.... and what happens to the kids if the parents are wiped out in an accident...

[Erik]

I've never thought about the funeral thing, but I do have the super life cover which should cover stuff if I died.

Me and the wife need to draw up a will, but what's stopping us is the fact that we cannot think what to do with the kids if we should both die. There is nobody in Aus that we could entrust them too and sending them back to family in RSA seems like a step backwards. Do they automatically go to the state if we die without a will? I should mention that my son has a RSA passport, while my daughter was born here and only has an Aus passport.

Anybody been in this situation, what did you do?

[Mara]

@Erik My guess, and it is only a guess, is that the closest member of family that can lay claim to the children will have a fighting chance to get them, if they are all outside of Australia, I am not sure how this would affect your Australian born daughter.

 

Most lawyers will offer you an initial interview, so without delay, make an appointment and go and see one... your children are way too precious to dilly dally without making a decision. This is not something for the too hard basket.

[rozellem]

Thanks for this post.  We have now booked a appointment with somebody to talk about a Will. 

[AFreshStart]

We redid our wills within weeks of arriving, for the this very reason, our two young children. We also have life insurance polices, but no funeral cover, because like Mara we have enough in savings to cover that.

 

Let me say it WASN'T cheap, it was roughly $2,000 and it is simple, I think it's only 4-pages from memory, but WELL WORTH the investment and outlines things as they should be to be actioned in Australia.

 

As an aside this also came in handy with Borders when asking them to expedite my wife's PR. She was given a 309 temp VISA which has a 2-year waiting period before PR, but having a will and making a contingency for our children was evidence that we were committed to each other, our children and Australia and Borders took this in as part of our evidence and granted my wife her PR without having to wait 2-years.

 

Cheers

 

Matt

Edited May 4, 2016 by AFreshStart

[JackoFam]

Thanks Matt, definitely something to add to the list for when we first arrive. Guardianship of kids is such a massive worry.

[Chantalgr]

Thanks for the great info, I am currently doing research on this topic.  

 

Can anyone recommend or advise pitfalls to watch out for regarding life & disability insurance?

 

 

[Mara]

@Chantalgr    If you work and your employer contributes to superannuation on your behalf, then I would  definitely do your research with the super company and see what they can offer you regarding life and disability insurance.  You will get it a lot cheaper if you go through them. One thing to remember, if you find that the insurance that you want will cost you $300 per month, then I would suggest you make arrangements with your employer to deduct that in equal payments over the year from your wages and to pay it into your super as a contribution from you. If you do not do this, then it will come off your contributions paid by your employer to your super and this will then diminish your retirement savings by $300 per month.... not something you want to do.

 

If you go down this path you have to ensure that your have a "Binding Death Nomination" completed. In the event of a claim, the insurance company will not pay you directly, it will pay out to the super company (hence a group insurance policy which is why you get it cheaper). By having a "Binding Death Nomination" the insurance company has nothing to consider and will pay out the "binding death nominee" immediately. If you do nto have this, then the Super company has to have a high level meeting to decide whether the people you have noted as ordinary  beneficiaries, is a fair distribution of the funds and they will be able to change that, if they think it is unfair.

 

Here is a scenario..... husband is the fund member, wife is the ordinary beneficiary and it is stated that 100% will go to her, husband dies, fund meets, they decide that because there are two young children, the wife only gets 50% and the remaining funds go into a trust fund for each child 25% each.

 

If you have a "binding death nomination" in favour of the wife, then the full amount will pay to her, as it is "binding"

 

Binding nominations usually only last two years.... then you have to renew it, so please check with the super company what their rules are.

 

If you need more info, or clarity, just shout, I will attempt to help.

[greggle]

On 5/4/2016 at 1:28 PM, rozellem said:

Thanks for this post.  We have now booked a appointment with somebody to talk about a Will. 

 

@rozellem: Please could you PM me their name if you are happy with them & their charges are reasonable.

Thanks!

[Chantalgr]

Thanks Mara.  I will look into your suggestion ?